Simon Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 all right boys, git yer red pens out and mark up this mid-term > I think my favorite thing about this team is just how physically they play the game. I don’t like to see guys hurt, but I dislike it a lot less when they’re not our guys; and there have been an awful lot of times this year that you see a player down and then find yourself relieved to learn that it is not a Bill. Individual injuries are typically a fluky sort of thing but when you see it repeatedly happening to opponents all over the field, week after week after week, that is a trend which points to just how much the Bills like to beat people up. Huge props to guys like Fred Jackson, Mario Wiliams, Erik Wood and Aaron Williams who have really set the tone for the relentless brawling style these guys are playing successfully with. > Some more props to Jim Schwartz and his unexpected display of self-containment. I was really worried about this hire because I feared that Schwartz’ outsized ego could be problematic with how he deployed this talent-rich defense. I envisioned him looking at this roster with bulging eyes and then trying to run a bunch of exotic nonsense that was well outside his wheelhouse; needless to say that has not been the case at all so far. He’s repeatedly put together tactically sound game plans for a variety of O's with minimal exposure to the few weak spots on this defensive roster. His self-restraint has allowed the talent level of his players to dictate outcomes for the vast majority of the season so far. if the Bills can stay healthy and Schwartz can continue to be conservatively creative as the season progresses, only very good offenses will be able to produce on these guys. > We've got half an OLine and half a truly offensive line. No worries with Glenn, Wood or Seantrel (that was just outstanding work Doug), but the half of the Bills OLine that consist of our two Guards and our TE’s is a sight for blind eyes. Erik Pears might be a wonderful father and a magnanimous philanthropist but he simply has no business residing on an NFL roster at this point. I give him all the credit and respect in the world for using nothing but guts and guile to parlay a very limited skill set into some significant paydays, but his expiration date has arrived. Maybe he’ll be a fine coach some day, but his lack of athleticism has caught up to him at the ripe old age of 30ish and repeatedly trotting him out there week after week is hurting this offense…..badly. The fact that neither of the guys that Doug drafted this year can move Pears off his spot could be very troubling, or it could be another sign of a potential problem with the manner in which our coach deploys players. Leading to……. > I cannot be the only one around here who has seen just about enough of Doug Marrone’s horsespit. His dicking around with guy like Mike Williams, Craig Urbik, Jerry Hughes, Robert Woods, etc is going to become a real world problem if he keeps it up. Don’t kid yourself that other players don’t recognize it and don’t kid yourself that it’s not going to be an issue moving forward. What is it that these guys have in common? None of them are cuddly critters and none of them have any interest in kissing coach ass. Marrone’s tough guy act and his petulant need to have his posterior polished are a dangerous variable in a locker room full of grown-ass men. Do you know why Doug Whaley was able to steal a high-potentialed Badger OLineman who was on the Outland Watch List? It was because Urbik had had enough of Mike Tomlin, they didn’t get along and Doug knew it. And because of it the Bills ended up robbing the Stillers of a very reliable OLineman. When this scenario repeats itself, this time it will be the Bills who get robbed of a good player, and it will be because of a hard-ass coach who lets personalities get in the way of professionalism. I know Urbik (like Williams, Woods and Hughes) isn’t going to win any Teacher’s Pets awards, but it doesn’t mean he’s not coachable, nor does it mean you hurt the rest of the team because of some infantile need to “put him in his place”. Watching Urbik standing uselessly on the sideline while the Bills Guards are getting their asses kicked all over the place in every quarter of every game is a glaring symptom of a troubling disease that will need to be addressed. How to address it is certainly debatable, but let’s not pretend it doesn’t exist, because you can damned well be sure the players recognize the condition. > OK, enough of that (but yeah that felt alllll right). How 'bout the Bills secondary. I know we like to have spastic fits every time we see a Bills corner give up a completion, even in a league where playing any pass defense has become viewed by officials as a potential act of on-field terrorism. But the truth of the matter is that this secondary has been really, really good this year. And I’m not talking just the last couple weeks; they’ve been very effective for nearly every half they’ve played this year. Do you all realize just how many coverage sacks these guys have been racking up since the season started? Schwartz’ patient, well-controlled pass rush leads to virtually no free runners or jailbreak scenarios for this defense. They inevitably apply pressure, but it’s more of a gradual, squeezing pressure than the kind of fast, explosive pressure that forces turnovers. Despite that fact, these guys are not only leading the NFL in sacks (most of which could clearly be qualified as coverage sacks) but they are also leading the NFL in interceptions! The next time you get to barking because you saw a DB give up a completion, maybe you ought to consider the previous 15 plays where you failed to see that DB when he didn’t give up an inch and frequently forced a sack or a throwaway. Which is exactly what they’ve done as much as any secondary in the NFL this year. > Marcel Dareus is an unholy terror and there isn’t an OLineman in the NFL who isn’t pissing down his leg when he sits down to watch film of him. > Lots of stuff on TSW about Nate , err Nathaniel Hackett. I could be misreading it but it kind of looks like maybe one or two people don’t care too much for him? - ) Watching this Bills offense has been an exercise in frustration this season, especially when you consider how many chances a very effective defense has given them. But I am not entirely convinced that laying all of the blame for this at Hackett’s feet is an accurate assessment of the situation. The guy has done a pretty nice job of assembling a functional passing attack with real question marks at OLine, QB and TE. His route combination and real time calls during games have been very effective at using scheme and match-ups to get guys open at good spots on the field. That being said, the Bills running game has been nothing short of abysmal all year long. But is Hackett really the root problem with that aspect of the Bills offense? Looking around the board the two primary complaints I seem to be seeing are predictable playcalling (run/run/pass) and a lack of variety in the rungame. I don’t put a lot of stock in that first complaint because a) you hear it from every fan and the horse they rode in on and b) I don’t think we realize just how hard it is to call an effective offense in real time when you have to be ready to go while guys are still getting off the ground. It’s easy to sit in front of your TV when both units are already deployed and the play clock is winding down and call plays. You spend a few quarters calling Spider 2 Y Banana before Fred has even handed the ball to the official and see how well you do then. Anyhoo, I understand the first complaint as it relates to Sunday. Yes the pattern was repetitive and predictable. But it’s also worth taking into account that we were on the road holding a 2 score lead over a division rival; that is most certainly NOT the time to go out there and start slinging it around and invite the bad guys back into the game. That’s exactly the part of a game when a team who wants to be committed to the run, actually goes out there and commits to the run. Could he have done a better job of getting a controlled passing aspect involved to break it up occasionally? Yes he could have, but it’s hardly a firing offense. I understand the second complaint as it relates to the entire season and imo it holds a little more merit. Watching the Bills rungame consist of repeatedly trying to unsuccessfully jam the ball up into the 1, 0 and 2 holes can be really freaking aggravating. But if you consider the other available options and their likely results you start to maybe see why Hackett has been doing exactly that. He can’t call up the stretch play with any consistency because both his guards are getting blown into the backfield on every other down. He starts doing that and all the sudden the Bills are going to be spending all day behind schedule in 2nd/13 and 3rd/9. . He’s not going to start calling up a bunch of draw plays because, again, he’s only going to end up with TFL’s and holding calls that put the Bills behind schedule and lead to punts and turnovers. He can’t run off tackle because he doesn’t have any TE’s he can put out there kick (or block anybody with any sort of consistency whatsoever). When you look at a 7man OLine that only has 3 guys you can count on, it severely limits your options. If the Bills really want to be committed to the run, repeatedly jamming it into the interior OLine for minimal gains (and minimal risk) is probably the safest way to go about it. If we’re going to really give Hackett the business, maybe we ought to consider questioning his strategic thinking instead of his tactical. > I cannot wait to see a healthy Kiko back on the field with the Bills next year. It’s looking like he and Bradham might both be long term answers as edge players at the second level for the Bills, and that is something we haven’t had around here in a pretty long time. And when you see the game slowing down for Preston Brown a little bit more every week, it looks like we might already have the makings of a solid group of starters at LB on the roster right now. And that hasn’t been the case around here in a veeerrrrry long time. It is not far-fetched at all to think that at this time next year, the Bills might have the very best Front7 on the planet. And while some of y’all like to win with a great QB, or a powerful OLine, or a brilliant coaching staff, for my money the heart of a great football team is its defensive Front7. You make yourself dominant there and it covers up an awful lot of warts elsewhere on your roster. Doug Whaley recognizes that value and I look forward to us remaining strong there as long as he is making the calls. > So what should be the Bills strategy going forward to make themselves competitive on a consistent basis? For my part I’d like to see the Pegulas do some much-needed housecleaning. I think it would be best for the Bills to excise the entire Russ Brandon cartel; clearing out an embedded 5th column of cronies who have been entrenched here through this 15 year slopfest might go a long ways to getting the whole organization pulling in the same direction. I would also like to see them part ways with pretty much everybody who has ever had a cup of coffee in Syracuse. Doug Marrone and his pals (i.e Hackett, Crossman,etc) do not strike me as the kind of crew that is conducive to either short-term or long-term success. Leave Doug Whaley in place to continue what he has begun (and begun very well for the most part) and make sure he understands that he has both the authority as well as the support of ownership to make independent decisions (i.e. not being pressured to hire Russ Brandon’s buddies) for the good of this football team. He’s an intelligent, well-prepared, stand-up guy who deserves the opportunity to do his thing. In the meantime let's start pestering him about how well Buffalo and Nick Saban might get along. I bet he could turn Maddy Bumgarner into a hell of a QB. Get on it Whaley! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Great stuff, Simon. Your football insights have been sorely missed. Hope to see more of it. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in Chicago Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Welcome back, Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Simon sez! Welcome back, bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sodbuster Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Good stuff, however, I think you understated Dareus' ability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Too many words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pills -N- Bills Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Too many words. Go B word and moan somewhere else.... Excellent post, really gives a diffrent perspective on all the runs up the middle and actually gives a theory ( a damned good one at that) on why we call so many of them. Next year when we get kiko back will be out-fn-standing. Bradham, brown, and kiko. Can't do much better then that if brown continues to develop and Bradham keeps turning that corner. Excellent post and I look forward to reading more of them!! Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Good food for thought on the bye week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Hey ho, Simon reappears! Good write up, IMO can only say I think the Urbik thing was because Wood and he are the only centers, either one gets hurt we are screwed. So the coach was being ultra conservative. On the bright side, maybe one of the practice squad or our new draft picks is starting to show some ability and he thinks it would be okay(ish) now, if we were struck by the injury bug a bit. I almost understand that if it is the case, almost. I do understand what you are saying about the players relationships to HCDM, a little about that below. The run run pass.... yeah I see where your coming from BUT no. You do something until the opposition can stop it, if doing the same thing over and over is not working, do something (anything) else. Yeah, I get we had a lead, but a good team (not the Jests) are going to comeback against playing not to lose. I think anyone who lived through the Jauron years just expects that, that theory is going to screw us in the long run. If it was just the Jests game we saw it in, okay then but it has been more. I pretty much agree with the rest but wonder if we can keep the excellent D if Marone and Hackett are gone.... Who becomes HC and does he want to use another scheme? Does Schwartz then go away too? Crossman's unit has been looking very good this year, what becomes of that? I have no idea yet what I want them to do, I need to see it for the season. 2 years is a decent sample, at times I think they know what they are doing. At times I see Spiller, Hughes, Woods or MW as a bit deserving of HCDM ire but man! at least get the playmakers the scheme to succeed (in Spillers case especially, if and when he goes, if he goes to a team we play like the Pats*, we will see the results and it won't be pretty). Woods, maybe it is an ego thing (it seems to have passed anyway) but I do think he is a very good 2nd or 3rd. MW who knows what it is, they don't want his salary next year? HCDM likes the head games with him? it really is his attitude? All big question marks to me but I do think he is a very good 2nd or 3rd, I really like him (saw a few TB games that he was THE man for them) plus he's a Bflo boy, so how can I not. Hughes..... I really hope we can keep him and Spikes, I think Brown is coming along great and yes with Kiko damned these guys are going to look even better. To tell you the truth, I didn't know there was any animosity between him and Marone, is it the drag race thing? So at least, we should see HCDM until the seasons end (full 2 years). He won't get fired before then anyway and I do think getting into the playoffs is basically a necessity to his group. If they blow it yeah lets can them. I agree about the FO guys too, I think that would be okay to redo. The only hard parts are who comes in then and how do we keep some continuity in the very good parts of the team? I also agree about Whaley, he gets more time and drafts, seems very legit, to my eyes. We need to have a whole team working together, I don't like hearing about blow up at practices at the FO from the coach or the other way around. I don't like the holding out the better player, for what ever reason. I am not particularly impressed by the Offense (some of the players roles and execution as well as the obvious coaching mistakes and problem in dealing with it and them) and Marone's way about it but they still get the year to see how they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills Fan of St Augustine Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Wow, great post Simon - thanks! I would still argue that even with the best front 7 in football, you have still got to be able to run the ball and protect your QB to win the GD SB. But they can get you to the dance and then anything is possible. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bananathumb Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Great piece, Simon. Please forward it to T. and K. Pegula because this is exactly what they need to hear. May the exorcism begin! Just one question: is Schwartz your next HC or do you have someone else in mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpleman Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Crossman's unit has been looking very good this year, what becomes of that? I don't know who is responsible, the GM or the HC, but look at the serious effort the team made this year to draft, develop existing players, trade and bring in FAs to stock the team with the talent specifically for special teams. Those efforts paid off. Was it really Crossman getting better at coaching, or was the talent level just so good they had to get better in spite of the coaching? Did Marrone go along with the high priority on special teams play and make a special effort to hold back his ego to save his crony Crossman? I don't know the answer, but I do think it is the overwhelming improvement in the effort by the team to stock special teams, and the quality of the talent they accumulated, rather than improved coaching. I think any decent special teams coach brought in will do fine as long as the talent stays in place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Go B word and moan somewhere else.... I think Simon can fight his own battles, but I'm sure he appreciates your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaattMaann Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Great post - until the end, and only because I disagree with you blowing up the coaching staff is a terrible idea, for the sole reason (there are several though, but this one is the most important) that continuity is what breeds success in the NFL - constant turnover of coaching staff and front office has been a major factor in why we have been in rebuild mode for 15 years You may not like marrone (I personally like his mantra of constantly getting better, holding players accountable, not confusing effort with results) but he's getting results, no? Is there public dissension among players? I think you may be reading a little too much into certain players (where has it been said urbik has been sitting because he doesn't kiss marrones ass? Couldn't it just be that we drafted a guy we are high on and thought he would improve the more he played, and that for a while he was showing glimpses of improvement so why pull the plug before it was glaringly obvious we needed too?) and their dislike of Marrone...I see a team that has good chemistry and is being led from the top down The crossman hate I just don't get.....special teams have been pretty damn special I'm not going to touch the Hackett debate because I think - as you pointed out - it's not all on him and he has definitely had success with his passing schemes, and his "predictability" is probably a combination of factors that you mentioned Russ Brandon has been doing a hell of a job marketing and running business side of the buffalo bills for years, I don't get why he would/should be replaced either....as long as he's not making football decisions, which he's not (and you also seem to infer - blindly - that he could be pressuring Whaley into decisions, which I think is unfounded and kind of just wrong), he shouldn't be replaced either Now if Pegula were to bring in an outsider to view the situation and make recommendations in the offseason/next year going forward, that sounds like a progressive and intelligent way to go about continuing to build a winning organization Great post - looking forward to more of these for the 2nd half! Go bills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I look forward to setting aside 3 hours to read this post in full. JK! Thanks Simon!! CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 > I cannot be the only one around here who has seen just about enough of Doug Marrone’s horsespit. His dicking around with guy like Mike Williams, Craig Urbik, Jerry Hughes, Robert Woods, etc is going to become a real world problem if he keeps it up. Don’t kid yourself that other players don’t recognize it and don’t kid yourself that it’s not going to be an issue moving forward. What is it that these guys have in common? None of them are cuddly critters and none of them have any interest in kissing coach ass. Marrone’s tough guy act and his petulant need to have his posterior polished are a dangerous variable in a locker room full of grown-ass men. Could not agree more with this CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Too much here to comment on, so I'll just focus on the one point with which I agree the most: > I think my favorite thing about this team is just how physically they play the game. I don’t like to see guys hurt, but I dislike it a lot less when they’re not our guys; and there have been an awful lot of times this year that you see a player down and then find yourself relieved to learn that it is not a Bill. Individual injuries are typically a fluky sort of thing but when you see it repeatedly happening to opponents all over the field, week after week after week, that is a trend which points to just how much the Bills like to beat people up. Huge props to guys like Fred Jackson, Mario Wiliams, Erik Wood and Aaron Williams who have really set the tone for the relentless brawling style these guys are playing successfully with. My crew and I speak on this weekly; this is a hugely physical football team. They hit people; they hurt people. Add up the names of the fallen opponents: Slausson, Garza, Moreno, D. Brown, D. Woodhead, Megatron, Mayo, Ridley, etc. This has become a team that, for a variety of reasons, is difficult to face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Agree about Marrone. He would have to have been a HC in the NFL for a long time in order to peddle that shtick of his. I agree that it breeds disrespect for him amongst the veterans. But winning hides all flaws. If they start to lose, it will get ugly. Disgree about the pass D, specifically the CBs. The Bills are inthe middle of the pack with regards to yards, TDs, 1st downs given up. The best QBs they faced were Rivers (72% completions, 2 TDs, 0 ints, 2 sacks) and Brady (27/37, 4 TDs, 0 ints) and the CBs really didn't bother those 2 guys too much (Stafford had just lost Megatron, who was injured before the Bills game). Will have to see how they do against Rodgers and Manning and Brady in week 16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 > I cannot be the only one around here who has seen just about enough of Doug Marrone’s horsespit. His dicking around with guy like Mike Williams, Craig Urbik, Jerry Hughes, Robert Woods, etc is going to become a real world problem if he keeps it up. Don’t kid yourself that other players don’t recognize it and don’t kid yourself that it’s not going to be an issue moving forward. What is it that these guys have in common? None of them are cuddly critters and none of them have any interest in kissing coach ass. Marrone’s tough guy act and his petulant need to have his posterior polished are a dangerous variable in a locker room full of grown-ass men. I have seen this mentioned a number of times and understand the basis for concern, but do any of you have any "inside" knowledge concerning how Marrone treats these players in private? Further, the history of team sports is rife with examples of successful teams that had a$$holes as coaches. I don't see any evidence of a player revolt; perhaps that is because, as you say, the team is winning. Anyway, I'm not as quick to jump down Saint Doug's throat over this. The team HAS become mentally and physically tougher since he arrived. Kyle Williams has spoken to the difference in mental toughness on numerous occasions. I also look back to Dareus' comments when he returned to the team -- the guy was absolutely gushing over Marrone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaattMaann Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Someone pleaseeeeee explain to me what Marrones "schtick" is? And why some of us think the players (veterans) hate it? Is there any concrete examples of this or is this all the media driven nonsense (his apparent "dispute" with Hughes, who he's been getting great results out of by the way? His "argument" with the FO after training camp? Not playing mike Williams - who we have not needed because our WRs are doing great - thus causing his agent to request a trade? Also, notice how mike acts on the sidelines, true team player despite his apparent "rift" with his head coach. His demotion of Robert Woods in training camp that worked perfectly and Woods publicly said he needed and benefited from and now he's playing like he should? Or is it his handling of the guard situation where he has not played Urbik for reasons none of us actually know, other than the fact they were trying to ride it out with the rookie and now switched and inserted Urbik?) I'm dying to see what everyone is talking about as far as Marrone and his "schtick"? I have seen this mentioned a number of times and understand the basis for concern, but do any of you have any "inside" knowledge concerning how Marrone treats these players in private? Further, the history of team sports is rife with examples of successful teams that had a$$holes as coaches. I don't see any evidence of a player revolt; perhaps that is because, as you say, the team is winning. Anyway, I'm not as quick to jump down Saint Doug's throat over this. The team HAS become mentally and physically tougher since he arrived. Kyle Williams has spoken to the difference in mental toughness on numerous occasions. I also look back to Dareus' comments when he returned to the team -- the guy was absolutely gushing over Marrone. THANK YOU - sorry to repeat post, must have posted at the same time - this is what I'm saying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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